Castillo sweeps endorsements

He’s not the favorite of establishment Republicans, but conservative 3rd District congressional candidate David Castillo has impressed newspaper editorialists and swept endorsements.

Castillo has won backing from three newspapers in the district: the Daily News in Longview, the Chronicle in Centralia and The Columbian in Vancouver.

Castillo was also supported, along Democrat Denny Heck, by The Seattle Times. The Daily News endorsed Castillo and Heck as desired finalists in the November election.

The 3rd District is a nationally watched battleground in this fall’s mid-term election. The seat is currently held by Democratic Rep. Brian Baird, who is retiring after six terms in Congress.

The Columbian has endorsed an echo rather than a choice. It endorsed two Republicans, Castillo and State Rep. Jaime Herrera, in the top-two primary. The Chronicle endorsed only Castillo: The right-thinking newspaper rarely has a kind word for any Democrat.

Castillo is an Olympia businessman who held sub-cabinet posts in the Bush administration. He had declared his candidacy and had a campaign up and running before Baird decided not to seek reelection.

The National Republican Congressional Committee was puffing Herrera within two hours of Baird’s announcement. It recently sent out a release when she was named one of Republicans “Young Guns” candidates in the 2010 election. Herrera is supported by former Sen. Slade Gordon and U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris-Rodgers. She is a former aide to the Eastern Washington congresswoman.

But Castillo has stood out in candidate forums, particularly with his call for repeal of the health care reform plan signed into law by President Obama in March. He has been endorsed by FreedomWorks, a major Tea Party voice headed by former House Majority Leader Dick Armey.

Heck faces only token opposition on the Democratic side. He is an Olympia businessman, early investor in RealNetworks and co-founder of the TVW state government television channel.

Kathie Durbin, in the Columbian, writes: “Although Herrera came up short on the endorsement circuit, she is the only candidate in the race who is running cable television ads.

“She declined to take part in a candidate forum sponsored by two conservative organizations last Wednesday because Heck did not plan to attend. She has also declined to debate Castillo one-on-one.”